


Best Man

by Sue Corkill (mscorkill)



Series: Jay and Chloe [2]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-24
Updated: 2012-05-24
Packaged: 2017-11-05 22:11:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/411544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mscorkill/pseuds/Sue%20Corkill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A case of mistaken identity complicates Jay and Chloe's Las Vegas wedding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Best Man

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, I couldn't resist writing Jay and Chloe.
> 
> Originally published in the fanzine Revelation, Volume Three, May 2005.

BEST MAN

"I still don't know why it has to be me." Jack fidgeted, tugging at his regulation blue tie. Sam brushed his hand way and straightened out the knot, smoothing a nonexistent speck of lint off his lapel. "I mean, I can't be the only guy he knows? What about Coombs?"

"Coombs is at the St. Petersburg Technical University on some kind of exchange program."

"Florida?"

"Russia."

"Ah...what about Teal'c'?"

"Well, Jay did ask him...and the response had something to do with dismemberment—I'm still not clear if it involved dismembering Jay or Teal'c. Jay's only other option was Jonas. And we didn't know until yesterday if he would actually be able to make it. Needless to say, you were his next choice."

"So...not even the first choice, eh?" 

"Well, fourth choice, actually, sir. If you count Coombs, Jonas—"

"Ahhh! Let's not." Jack glanced over to where Teal'c and Jonas stood by a small table that held a tray of pastries and coffee. They looked relaxed and happy, nibbling on Bear Claws, dressed in almost identical black suits. It still annoyed Jack that Daniel had managed to avoid the whole affair, his excuse that he really didn't know Felger all that well was flimsy at best, Jack thought sourly. It was also fairly convenient that SG-8 needed his help on their archaeological dig the very weekend of Felger's wedding. And here he thought his team was prepared to stick with him through thick and thin. 

One of the side doors to the room opened and the three bridesmaids came in, crowding around the two men at the table. The tall, horsy looking one caught him looking their way and waved, a predatory smile on her homely face.

Jack smiled weakly and nodded. "But three bridesmaids, Carter? And only one of me?"

"It'll be okay, sir."

He lowered his voice and shuffled them around so his back was to the other group. "I mean, have you seen the way the Maid of Honor looks at me?"

Sam peered over his shoulder. "You mean Bridget?"

"I mean the tall...ug...er...beauty challenged one who keeps looking at me like I'm the main course!"

Sam chuckled. "Don't worry, sir. I've got your six."

"It's not my six I'm worried about!" Jack looked over his shoulder, she was still looking at him and when she bit into a crème puff, the look in her eyes frightened him more than any System Lord.

"Jack." Sam's soft hand touched his cheek, turning his face back towards her. "It'll be okay. I won't let any of the big, bad bridesmaids run off with you."

"How come you're not a bridesmaid?" 

"I don't think Chloe really likes me." She smoothed her hands down the skirt of her midnight blue sheath. "Besides, chartreuse really isn't my color."

If chartreuse was the rather sickly shade of yellowish-green material the dresses the bridesmaids wore was made out of, then he'd have to agree. It certainly didn't do anything for any of them, especially the Maid of Honor. The bilious green clashed horribly with what Jack suspected was her dyed carrot red hair. There should also be some kind of law, he decided, that prohibited women from wearing close-fitting, low cut dresses with ruffles once they reached a certain age—or weight. He shivered, thank god Sam was here to protect him.

"You look nice," he told her unexpectedly, feeling the need to somehow communicate his appreciation. And she did. The simple dress she wore stopped just short of her knees and there wasn't a ruffle in sight. She had some sort of sparkly dark blue shawl draped around her shoulders, giving him tantalizing glimpses of her bare shoulders and décolletage. All very tasteful, of course and very sexy. Just the right thing to wear to a wedding. 

Of course, given the fact that there were various and sundry 'aliens' circulating amongst the guests, she probably could have worn her BDU's and no one would have noticed. But then, they weren't really aliens. Jack sighed. The whole Best Man thing might have been tolerable if they weren't in Las Vegas...at the Star Trek Experience...where Doctor Jay Felger and his fiancée, Chloe Cavanaugh, were going to exchange wedding vows on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. 

His team had been ecstatic when the invitation to the wedding had been extended to all of them. Even Jonas had managed to finagle his way to Earth, combining a visit to update Hammond to coincide with the wedding. Teal'c had been most insistent to visit the place where one of his favorite television shows was filmed. And Carter? He wasn't sure what motivated her unless it was merely the opportunity to see him in his dress blues on the Enterprise. As for his motivation? Any opportunity to be away from the SGC with Carter was good enough for him, even if it mean being Best Man for someone he could barely tolerate, much less call a friend.

Jack knew he wasn't the only one who thought the whole thing was darn odd. There was an older couple, who had been identified as Chloe's parents, who looked like they wished she would have eloped. Jay's mother on the other hand...the only thing that frightened him more than Bridget the Bridesmaid was Mavis Felger.

"Colonel O'Neill." 

Speak of the devil, her loud voice assaulted him from across the room. Mavis was a well-endowed woman, in another life she could have been on Wrestlemania. She glided like a battleship across the room toward them. 

"My, my, don't you look nice." She maneuvered her ample frame between him and Sam, adjusting the tie Sam had just straightened. Behind Mavis' back Sam frowned, Jack just raised his eyebrows helplessly. "There, much better." She stepped back then and Sam had to move fast, or get trampled. "I didn't know Jay knew such important people! Just look at all those medals." Mavis poked his chest. "What's this one for?"

Jack peered down at his chest. "Ah, that's the Combat Readiness medal."

"I'll bet you're ready for anything, Colonel."

Sam stifled a laugh and Jack cringed, he couldn't believe Felger's mother was flirting with him! Before she could jab his chest again—or something worse—the door to the room opened and a uniformed crewmember strode purposefully to his side.

"Colonel. We're ready for you now." Jack nodded. While he as relieved to escape from Mavis, he wasn't so sure going with the perky, young actress was going to be an improvement. 

"Do you have the ring, sir?" Sam asked. Her eyes twinkled and she was clearly enjoying his discomfort.

He patted his breast pocket. "Right here."

"Right this way," his escort instructed. Jack sighed; ignoring Sam's smirk and Mavis' effusive promises to see him later, he followed the girl.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Is my tie straight? What about this flower thing?" Jay sneezed and then sniffled, pulling the white rose and baby's breath boutonnière pinned to his lapel up to his nose and inhaled deeply. He sneezed again. "I think I’m allergic to roses."

"For crying out loud, Felger." Jack batted his hands away from his tie and the inoffensive flower. "Stop messing with this stuff. Your tie is straight and the flowers are fine."

Jay fiddled in his pants pocket for a moment and pulled out some nasal spray, which he proceeded to loudly snort. Jack grimaced. He really should be getting hazardous duty pay for this. 

"I don't have a tissue!" Jay squeaked; he had his nose pinched shut and incipient panic filled his eyes.

"Here," Jack said, pulling his white handkerchief out of his pocket. "Keep it," he muttered when Jay proceeded to vigorously blow his nose. Jack knew when he'd been Best Man at his best friend's wedding, the hardest thing he'd had to do was get a stripper for the bachelor party and then make sure the slightly hung-over groom made it to the church on time. Keeping Felger from having a full-blown panic attack was taxing his limited patience. Jack sighed; maybe a little distraction would work.

"So, professor, you're really into all this stuff?" Jack gestured around the large room, which he had been told by his perky escort, was an exact replica of the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. It didn't look like any alien ship he'd ever been on, but then the Goa'uld always seemed to go with the ostentatious while the Asgard were definitely minimalists. This seemed relatively...functional, if that word could be used for a mock-up of something that didn't actually exist. 

Jay paused in his nose blowing and looked at him. "This is a reasonable recreation of the bridge of the Enterprise, NCC-1701D." He appeared to be looking around the bridge, a slight frown creasing his forehead. "Of course, you have to imagine it without those folding chairs and the flowers."

Along with chairs and flowers, there was a small podium in front of a blank view screen, where Jack figured the Justice of the Peace, or whoever performed the wedding ceremony would stand. Fanning out in front of the podium were about a dozen or so white folding chairs. Several large floral displays finished out the wedding decorations.

"So...this is where you wanted to get married?" 

"After Chloe asked me to marry her—"

"She asked you?" 

"Well...ah...yes." Felger looked rather shame-faced, but he was quick to recover. "I was going to ask her, she just beat me to it."

Jack nodded. He didn't know the bride very well, but from what he had seen of her, he figured she probably beat Felger to a lot of things. She seemed to be much more practical than her husband-to-be. Which really didn't explain why they were getting married at what was basically an amusement park ride.

"Well, we're both huge Star Trek fans. The first time we made love was after—"

"AAAHHH!" Jack held up his hand. "Too much information!"

Felger had the grace to blush. "Sorry, Colonel. I'm just a little nervous. I never thought a wonderful woman like Chloe would actually want to marry me. I still feel like I’m going to wakeup," he gestured around the large room, "and find out this has all been a dream. I mean, I'm not like you—a hero with a big gun, saving the planet on a regular basis."

Jack felt a modest swell of pride. He—and his team—had saved the world at least nine times. He'd have to ask Teal'c for the most recent count. But, this was Felger's big day. "You're a lucky man, professor."

Instead of looking pleased, that mildly panicked look filled his face again. "What was I thinking? How can I go through with this? Chloe is going to depend on me now..." his voice trailed off and then he whispered in a tone of pure fear. "...children. What if we have children? They'll be dependent on me. And what about mother?" 

Felger's voice was rising along with his hysteria. As much as he hated to break his no touching rule, Jack grabbed Jay by the shoulders and shook him—hard. "Snap out of it, man. Don't make me hit you!" Fortunately before Jack had to actually hit him, Jay took a deep shuddering breath and seemed to get himself back under control. Whatever else Jack might have been tempted to do was put on hold when an older gentleman dressed in—what Jack had discovered—was a red Star Trek: The Next Generation costume, bustled into the room, followed by the young crew person.

"I’m Trevor Greenwood, the deputy commissioner of civil marriages who will be performing the ceremony." His keen gaze appraised both men before he focussed on Jay. "So, bridegroom, are you ready?"

Jay looked at him; Jack nodded and gave him the thumbs up. Jay swallowed hard and nodded, for once speechless. 

"Very good." Greenwood looked at Jack next. "And you're the best man?"

Jack nodded as well.

"Good, good." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, leather bound book that he placed on the podium. "All right, Leslie, I think we can get started."

The young crew woman went to a hidden panel and pushed some buttons. The lighting took on a soft, rosy glow and music that sounded suspiciously like science fiction movie music filled the room and the blank view screen behind them was suddenly filled with stars. Mr. Greenwood took his place behind the podium and gestured for Felger and Jack to stand to his left. Jack almost felt sorry for Jay, the panicked look had transformed into a shell-shocked one, but there was nothing he could do about that.

Leslie opened one of the doors and a couple of dozen guests filed in, Sam among them. She took a seat in the second row, on his side of the aisle, which Jack figured was the Groom's side. She smiled and winked when she saw him. Jack kept his expression somber and nodded at her. He scanned the room then, surprised to not see Jonas or Teal'c among the guest. But once everyone was seated, Teal'c entered the room with Mavis clinging to his arm. His expression remained serene as he escorted the beaming woman to a front row seat right in front of them and then went to sit by Sam.

Chloe's mother was next, looking slightly happier and holding onto Jonas' arm as he escorted her into the room. Jack could tell she was putting up a brave front, she had a tissue clenched tightly in one hand and her eyes were bright with unshed tears. Of course, her tears might just be from the fact that her daughter was getting married and not the rather unique location for the wedding. 

Jonas had barely taken his set next to Sam when the first of the bridesmaids appeared. It was only when the vivid green dress came into view that Jack realized Felger's tie was an exact color match. As painful as his full dress uniform could be, he was thankful for it now, otherwise he was sure he'd be sporting a tie of the same obnoxious color. The second bridesmaid slowly made her way to the front of the room and Jack did his best to ignore Bridget while she lumbered down the aisle right behind the second woman. As soon as the bridesmaids were all in place, the music changed to something more grandiose and on a cue from Greenwood, the guests all stood. 

Jack straightened and watched as Chloe walked down the aisle with her father. He hadn't remembered Chloe as being quite so pretty, but then he realized he really hadn't looked at her before. And he supposed she looked radiant, as brides generally do. She wore a simple white dress and carried a small bouquet of white roses, all which still managed to seem remarkably elegant, given their rather unusual surroundings. Jack hazarded a quick look at Felger. He was still alarmingly pale, but his eyes were glued to Chloe and he looked positively bedazzled. 

"Breathe," Jack commanded softly. Jay gulped in a huge breath and then Chloe's father placed her hand in Jay's and they all turned to face Mr. Greenwood. The familiar words of the wedding ceremony flowed over the room and Jack found his mind wandering back to his wedding. He'd been scared and nervous—much like Felger, he supposed. It had been the happiest day of his life, until his son was born, and he still remembered it with fondness. That the memory was now tinged with a layer of sadness and bitterness didn't lessen the sweetness of those first years of marriage.

Jack heard Chloe say "I do" in a firm voice and then Greenwood was looking at him. "The ring," he whispered, holding out his hand.

"Ah," Jack breathed. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the plain gold band and handed it to Greenwood. Bridget turned over her ring as well. 

Greenwood smiled benignly and held up the rings. "Wedding rings are an outward and visible sign of an inward spiritual grace and the unbroken circle of love, signifying to all the union of this man and this woman in marriage."

Unbroken love and inward spiritual grace. Jack's thoughts automatically went to Sam, maybe one day he'd be standing where Jay was now, with Sam at his side. Okay, they probably wouldn't be standing on the bridge of the Enterprise, but maybe the chancel of the Air Force Academy Chapel. He knew without a doubt, that one day, he would be repeating these timeless vows with Sam.

"Jay and Chloe, in so much as the two of you have agreed to live together in Holy Matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows, the joining of your hands and the giving of these rings, I now declare you to be Husband and Wife. Whom God hath joined together, let no one put asunder."

For a minute there, all the color left Felger's face and Jack tensed, prepared to catch him if he should suddenly drop. But then Greenwood spoke those magic words. 

"Congratulations, you may kiss your bride."

Jay only hesitated for a moment, but then a huge smile split his face and he and Chloe kissed. Applause and whistles broke out from amongst the guests. Chloe was blushing and Jay was looking slightly dizzy when they finally surfaced from the passionate embrace. 

Greenwood smiled broadly. "It is my privilege to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Jay Felger."

There was more applause and—thanks to Teal'c and Jonas' quick educational guide to Star Trek—he recognized the wedding recessional that blasted out of the speakers as the theme from Star Trek: The Next Generation. A beaming Jay and Chloe started up the aisle and then before Jack knew what hit him, Bridget grabbed hold of his arm with an iron grip and he had no choice but to escort the triumphant woman up the aisle after the newly married couple. He managed to catch Sam's eye and give her his 'you better damn well come and rescue me soon' look, before Bridget dragged him off to the reception. At least that's where he hoped she was dragging him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That wasn't so bad now, was it?" Sam asked him as they stepped off the elevator on their floor. 

"Well, if you don't count the fact that Bridget practically decked you when she went leaping for the bouquet."

Sam smirked and buried her face in the white rose bridal bouquet. "I honestly wasn't trying to catch it...it just came my way."

"Right," Jack grinned. It had been an awesome moment, the bouquet falling neatly into Sam's arms and Bridget trampling several innocent bystanders in her quest to grab it from Sam. He had to hand it to Sam; she'd been tenacious and refused to hand the bouquet over to the disappointed Maid of Honor. Fortunately, the reception had been winding down and they were able to beat a strategic retreat. 

The reception hadn't actually been that bad. He'd done his duty and made the first toast to the married couple, though he had drawn the line at the one in Klingon that Felger had wanted, instead settling on a more traditional one. He had raised his glass of the ubiquitous Chateau de Trek and given a tradition blessing—May your 'for better or worse' be far better than worse. The food had been good, even if the entrees did have silly names like the Collective Cut and Romulan Warbird. And there had been an open bar, so he wasn't about to complain. 

And now they were finally back at their hotel. He hadn't wanted to stay at the same hotel as the wedding, so they were at a very elegant—and expensive—one on the strip. But Jack didn't really care about the cost, he was with Sam for four whole days. Okay, make it Sam...and Jonas and Teal'c, but he wasn't sharing a room with Jonas and Teal'c. 

They had lost Jonas and Teal'c sometime before the great bridal bouquet battle. Jack figured they were going on the Star Trek ride—again—but they were both big boys and hopefully could take care of themselves. And Teal'c did have a cell phone. Sliding the keycard into the lock, Jack was still trying to decide just how bad that was or wasn't when the door suddenly opened. 

"Excuse me." 

Jack and Sam stepped back as uniformed bell man pushed a luggage cart out of their suite—piled high with all their luggage. The door to the adjoining room—where Teal'c and Jonas were housed—opened, and a similar luggage cart appeared, pushed by another bell man.

"What's going on?" Jack demanded.

A woman dressed in a dark suit with an ID badge identifying her as Marisa, Concierge followed the luggage cart. "Colonel O'Neill. Ms. Carter." She spoke to the bell man. "We'll be up in a minute, Leonard."

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded, rolling the cart toward the elevators.

"Marisa—"

"I'm sorry." Her smile and her manner were impersonal and efficient. She looked at her clipboard. "Your companions, Mr. Murray and Mr. Quinn have been upgraded to VIP status, so we're moving all of you to the Penthouse suites."

"Penthouse suites?" Sam sounded skeptical.

"You'll still have adjoining rooms." Marisa started down the hall and it seemed they had no choice but to follow. "If there's a problem after you see the room, just let me know and I'll take care of it." The elevator arrived within moments and using a key card, she punched in the twenty-sixth floor. 

Jack raised his eyebrows and Sam shrugged her shoulders. He guessed they'd find out what was going on soon enough. The elevator doors opened and again they followed Marisa. The contrast between the hallway of their former rooms and this floor was amazing. Their rooms had been very nice, but this hallway was more elegant and lavishly decorated than either of their rooms. 

"Nice," he murmured to Sam, who nodded in agreement.

"Here we are." Marisa stopped at the end of the long hallway, the door to the room she indicated was open and Jack glimpsed Leonard unloading their luggage. "Mr. Murray and Mr. Quinn have the two adjoining rooms. And this one," she gestured for them to enter, "is yours." The room was very nice with large windows overlooking the fountains at the front of the hotel. Jack tipped Leonard while Sam got the lowdown on the room amenities from Marisa.

"If you require anything, don't hesitate to call." Marisa handed Sam her card and left the room.

Sam looked at him. "What do you think those two did to get this room?"

Jack took off his suit coat and loosened his tie. "Don't know and I don't think I care." He opened the well-stocked mini-bar and took out a scotch. The ice bucket was silver and the glasses were heavy crystal. Pouring his drink, he sat down on the sofa, propping his feet on the coffee table and taking a swallow of the scotch. "Sweet."

Sam snorted mildly and went through the door to the bedroom.

"Hey Sam," he hollered after her. "I think there's a message on the phone."

"Since when did I become your secretary?" she grumbled from the bedroom. But Jack saw one of the lines on the phone light up. She came back a few minutes later, barefoot and wrapped in her robe.

"That was a message from Jonas. We're to meet them in the lobby at 1900 and then we'll go for dinner and then dancing at the Ghost Bar."

"Ghost Bar?"

"Yeah, apparently it's the hottest night club in Vegas. They were comped tickets, since they're high rollers now."

Jack looked at his watch, it was a little after 1500. "So what should we do until then?" Sam's lips curved in a slow, sultry smile and Jack felt a shaft of arousal shoot through him. 

Skirting the coffee table, she knelt down on the sofa over him and straddled his thighs. She pulled his tie off, her nimble fingers undoing the buttons of his shirt. "Oh, I’m sure we'll think of something."

Jack smiled lazily and tugged on the belt of her robe. "I'm so sure you're right," he drawled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you sure he's staying here?"

"Stop your whining." Sergio rolled down the window of the late-model limousine they'd rented and spit. "I told you, he's staying here."

"So where is he?" Leon whined again. "We've been parked here for thirty minutes, they're going to get suspicious."

Leon was right, though Sergio would never tell him that. He'd already caught several of the valet staff—and other limo drivers—looking at them too curiously. "You read the instructions just like I did. He'll be leaving the hotel to go to dinner at seven o'clock and that's when we nab him." Sergio checked his watch. "And it's just seven now."

"Why did we have to come so early?"

"Shut up already and give me the picture."

Leon muttered something under his breath, but opened the glove compartment and handed him the grainy snapshot. Sergio studied it in the fading light. Donny Marchesi looked like a million other guys, medium brown hair, along with medium height and build. Blue eyes, or so they'd been told. They were getting paid good money to put Marchesi on ice for a few days, just until some delicate negotiations had been concluded. Sergio didn't know what the negotiations were for and didn't really care. All he cared about was the cash they were getting for the job, if the mark ever showed up.

Suddenly Leon perked up. "There," he shoved his arm right in front of Sergio's face, pointing out the window. "I think that's our guy."

Sergio squinted. A man dressed in a dark suit stood by the valet desk. Medium height, build, brown hair and the same pasty skin, bushy eyebrows, thin lips and beaky nose. Starting up the engine, he pulled out in front of a taxi that honked at him. Flipping the taxi driver the bird, Sergio eased the limo up to the front of the hotel. Pulling his chauffeur's cap down a little further over his eyes, he nodded to Leon, who opened the door and got out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm telling you, I didn't imagine it!" The female voice grew louder and Jack recognized the voice—and the fear. "My husband has been kidnapped. Those men in that limousine took him!"

"Isn't that Chloe?" Jonas asked, concern in his face and voice.

"This doesn't sound good," Sam added, as a huge throng of people all vying for standing room at the entry to the hotel jostled them.

That was an understatement, Jack thought, but didn't say anything. He had a very bad feeling about this. Through the crowd gathered on the sidewalk Jack could just see the top of Chloe's blonde head.

"Teal'c?"

The huge Jaffa nodded and forged an opening through the crowd.

"Chloe, what's going on?"

"Colonel!" Relief flooded her tear-streaked face. "I'm so glad to see you. Jay's been kidnapped!"

She looked on the verge of tears again and Jack was worried for a moment that she was going to fling herself into his arms. But then Jonas maneuvered his way to her side and put his arm around her. "Is there some place with a little more privacy where we can talk?" The two security guards with Chloe hesitated for a moment. 

"Well, is there?" Jack prompted, using his command voice and wishing that he was still in his uniform. But his military ID did just as well, the two security guards finally taking them seriously. 

The two men exchanged a clearly skeptical look, but one finally nodded and said, "Right this way, sir."

The crowd slowly dispersed and they followed the guards as Jonas guided Chloe through the more curious of the onlookers. They were taken to a small room off the registration area. Jonas got Chloe settled on the settee and sat down next to her, taking her hand. "Now tell us exactly what happened."

Chloe took a shaky breath and Jonas nodded reassuringly, she gave him a weak smile and started talking. "We were going out to dinner and Jay was asking about a taxi. Then this limo pulled right up in front and this man got out, grabbed my Jay and pushed him in the back of the limo and then they drove off." Her voice rose steadily during her discourse.

"Did anyone else see it?" Sam asked.

"It all happened so fast," Chloe wailed. "One minute he was there and the next he was gone!" she sobbed, sniffling into the handkerchief Jonas handed her. 

"We've called the police." This from the security guard who'd remained in the room with them.

Sam got an alarmed look on her face. "I'm not so sure involving the local police is a good idea."

Good girl, Jack thought approvingly, she was probably thinking the same thing he was, that this was probably some NID or reorganized 'Committee' operation. "We probably can't keep them out of it completely, but I'll talk with them. Hopefully we can keep it all quiet."

"Jonas, you take Chloe up to our suite." He handed Jonas his keycard. "Murray, question the staff—gently." Teal'c nodded gravely. "I'm sure," Jack checked the name on the guard's ID badge. "Mr. Welch here will be happy to help you." The guard nodded. "And Carter...I think you'd better let Hammond know what's happened." His team nodded and they went to work.

Three hours later they were all gathered in the living room of his and Carter's suite. A tearful, yet stoic, Chloe had been handed over to her parents, who seemed content—and only mildly suspicious—of their weak cover story. It was flimsy, but was the best they could come up with, that their new son-in-law had been called back to NORAD for a critical problem that only he could fix and would rejoin Chloe in time for their honeymoon trip to Acapulco. Fortunately, Mavis Felger had already left on a late afternoon flight and—thank god—when the time came, Hammond would have to deal with telling her.

Jack took a long swallow of his beer and gazed out the window. The lights twinkled and glowed on the city that never slept. Damn... he should have known the good professor's wedding would get screwed up somehow. Turning from the window, he sighed. "So, what do we know?"

Teal'c paused, his hand hovering over another slice of pizza. "Several members of the valet staff remember a limousine parked for an extended period in front of the hotel."

"Do they know where it was from?"

Teal'c nodded. "An older model rental from The Starr Limousine Company."

"Did they, by any stroke of luck, recognize the driver?"

"No, just the company logo."

Jonas piped up, polishing an apple from the enormous fruit basket that had been in their suite on his shirt. "Chloe might be able to identify them. She said she got a good look at the driver and the man that pushed Doctor Felger into the limo."

"That's something anyway. We can have her check out mug shots at the police department tomorrow. Detective Fitzgerald said he'd give us twenty-four hours." Jack looked at Teal'c. "Tomorrow you and Jonas check out that limousine company." He turned to Sam, who was just delicately wiping her mouth with a napkin. "What did Hammond say?"

"So far his NID contacts deny any involvement. I called Agent Barrett myself and he wasn't aware of any sanctioned operation."

Jack snorted. "That's not to say there wasn't some sort of un-sanctioned operation. Did you ask him about the Committee?"

She nodded. "He wouldn't say much. However, they do suspect that they've been reorganizing."

"Why would they want Doctor Felger?" Jonas asked, his mouthful of apple.

"Jay has a unique approach—"

"That's one way of putting it," Jack muttered.

Sam glared at him. "About six months ago he developed a computer virus that successfully rendered the entire Stargate system inactive."

"Impressive." 

"That's not exactly what I would call it." Sam glared at him again and he shrugged.

"What's he been working on recently?" 

"That's just it," Sam replied. "He's working on several projects, but none of them—at first glance anyway—would seem to be of any interest to the NID or the Committee."

"What about Chloe?"

Sam looked thoughtful for a moment. "You're right...maybe it’s not anything to do with Jay but with Chloe."

"Okay, that's another avenue to investigate—in the morning."

"As you wish, O'Neill. Jonas Quinn and I will leave you."

"Wait a minute Teal'c, Jonas. We still haven't heard how you managed to score all of this." Jack gestured around the expensive room.

The two men looked at each other and then Jonas spoke. "You first, Teal'c."

He inclined his head. "I have been most successful at the gaming tables."

"How successful?"

"Ten thousand dollars."

Jack spit out his beer and Sam let out a small squeal. Jack grabbed a napkin and dabbed at his shirt. "Ten thousand dollars? Playing what?"

"Poker." He inclined his head gracefully toward Jonas. "However, Jonas Quinn was much more successful."

Jack was almost afraid to ask. "How much more?"

"Twenty-five thousand dollars," Jonas mumbled.

"Excuse me? Did you say twenty-five thousand dollars?"

Jonas nodded.

"At what?"

"Craps."

"Craps?"

The Kelownan nodded eagerly. "It's not that hard, once you recognize the patterns and—"

Jack interrupted him with a snort. "Right, not that hard." The two men just smiled those enigmatic alien smiles at him. "Enjoy yourselves, boys." Jack clapped Teal'c on the shoulder as he walked with the two of them to the door. "Win lots of money. Just remember we have a missing scientist on our hands and it's going to be a busy day tomorrow."

Sam had started tidying up, putting leftover pizza into the fridge and putting the empty beer bottles in the trash. "Do you really think the NID has Jay?" she asked.

"I don't know what to think. If he's not working on any sensitive projects, maybe they are after Chloe. Or maybe some insane industrialist has kidnapped him."

Sam shivered. "Well, whatever's happened, we need to find him."

"I know. But we've done all we can for tonight."

"So...shall we join Jonas and Teal'c down in the casino?"

Jack put his hands on her waist, lightly caressing. "Actually, I was thinking we should go to bed. Busy day tomorrow, we'll need a good night's sleep."

"Uh huh...right...a good night's sleep."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hello? Hello? Mr. Kidnapper, are you there?"

Sergio looked across the warehouse to where their 'guest' sat—tied to a chair and blindfolded.

"Can't you shut him up?" Leon asked disgustedly, tossing down three cards.

Sergio dealt him three new ones. "It was worse when we had him gagged. Just ignore him."

"I can't. He's too loud."

"Mr. Kidnapper? My hands are going to sleep."

Leon's hand twitched over the gun that rested on the card table. "I'm tellin' you, Sergio. If you don't shut him up, I’m going to!"

"All right, all right!" Sergio tossed his cards down, he only had a pair of fives anyway. He walked over to their captive, who had become very still and quiet.

"Donny, how many times does I got to tell you to shut up? See, it doesn’t bother me so much, but my partner's getting kind of twitchy."

"Who's Donny? I'm not Donny. I'm Doctor Jay Felger."

"Yeah right. And me and my buddy here are Siegfried and Roy. You know the drill, Marchesi. Behave yourself and when we get the okay, we'll let you go." Sergio walked away.

"But I'm telling you! I'm not who you think I am!"

"What's he yammering about?" Leon dealt another hand.

"Says he's not Donny Marchesi."

Leon snorted and picked up his cards, shuffling them around. "Yeah, right. How many do you want?"

Sergio studied his hand. "Give me two." He tossed two cards on the table and waited for Leon to deal him the replacements when his cell phone rang. "Yeah," he grunted into the phone and then sat up a bit straighter. "Yes, Yanno, we got Marchesi just like you said. We've got him sitting tight here until you give us the word." Yanno's next words chilled his blood.

_"Then why is Donny Marchesi sitting at the poker table in the private player's room here at the club?"_

"No! That can't be right! We got the right guy, looks just like his picture."

_"I don't know who you two idiots have there with you, but it isn't Donny Marchesi. This deal is off and if you know what's good for you, you'll make yourselves scarce. Antoniazzi is going to be pissed, this screw up is going to cost him ten million if the land deals fall through because Marchesi isn't 'unavailable' until it closes."_

The line went dead and Sergio put his phone back in his pocket. Leon had turned a sickly gray. "That was Yanno?"

"Yeah...." Sergio jerked his head toward their captive, already calculating the best way to disappear off Antoniazzi's radar. "That ain't Marchesi."

"Son of a bitch! What are we going to do?"

"Get rid of him and then maybe go to Jersey for a few months."

Leon's eyes lit up and he grabbed the gun. "Get rid of him?"

Sergio grabbed the gun out of his hand. "Are you nuts?" he hissed. "You want Antoniazzi and the cops after us? We take him out to the desert and dump him—alive." Sergio shrugged. "If he doesn't make it back to town...well, that's his problem, not ours."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jay didn't think he'd been this scared even when a dozen Jaffa were firing on him while he was trying to fix that DHD on P5S-117. Major Carter had been there to cover his six, now there was no one for his back up. He was blindfolded, bound and gagged—and bouncing around in the back of van—no limo for this trip, he thought sadly. He tried to brace himself against the side of the van, his thoughts drifting to his beautiful Chloe. The wedding had been perfect, everything had been perfect, right down to the wedding cake with the tiny bride and groom standing in front of a model of the Enterprise. 

He didn't know what time it was, he figured it was after midnight, so sometime today he and Chloe were supposed to board a plan for their honeymoon. Two weeks on the white sand beaches of the Mexican Riviera, just him and his beautiful bride. She'd make an even more beautiful widow. Jay sighed, she looked so elegant in black with her pale complexion and blonde hair. He could picture her at his graveside, a smart black hat complete with modest veil, perched on her head, dressed totally in black, the only sign of color the single white rosebud pinned to her breast.

All of SG-1 would be there too, even General Hammond. Colonel O'Neill would be part of the honor guard and after the American flag draping his coffin was folded, the grieving Colonel would present it to Chloe. And when the chaplain finished the service, one lone bugler would play Taps and then there would be the twenty-one gun salute, followed by a fly-over with the missing man formation. Of course, he'd be buried at a National Cemetery...he knew there had to be one in Colorado somewhere. Jay's eyes got misty under the blindfold, his final resting-place would be amongst the heroes of the United States, in an endless field of green filled with white crosses.

The van jerked to a stop, tossing Jay back down onto the floor. He heard the back doors open, cool air spilling into the interior of the van. Two sets of rough hands grabbed him and hauled him out of the relative safety of the vehicle. Jay tried to stay upright, but he stumbled for a few steps before falling to his knees on the rough ground. He knew it wasn't asphalt, he could feel the rocks and the dirt digging into his knees through his dress pants.

"Please don't kill me! I just got married!" It came out as a series of grunts and groans, the duct tape still firmly across his mouth, but it was clear in Jay's mind. Rough hands jerked at the tie-band digging into his wrists and he felt the cool blade of a knife. Chloe, I love you, he thought desperately, bracing himself for the killing blow, determined to die well, a credit to his bride and the SGC.

The knife sliced through the tie-band and before he truly realized what had happened, the roar of the van driving off filled his ears. He groped for the blindfold and gag, pulling them off and then coughing, the dust and exhaust the first things he inhaled. Rubbing his eyes, Jay knelt on the hard ground and looked around. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, the darkness taking on the more familiar shapes of mountains, rocks, scrub and cactus. 

Staggering to his feet, Jay slowly turned in a circle. The only sign of civilization was the cloud of dust left by the van as it sped away. Jay suddenly laughed out loud. He was alive—abandoned in the middle of the Nevada desert—but he was alive. The chill of the desert night was giving way to the warmth of the rising sun. Jay squinted and looked toward the east. It was late April, how hot had it gotten yesterday? They'd been inside all day.... 

Think, Jay, think, he ordered himself. He'd attended the survival classes that Captain Fredericks had given for all the scientists who went on off-world assignments. Jungle, urban and desert environments had all been covered. All them had grumbled, but they had all sat through the classes. Now, if he could just remember the lecture on desert survival. Jay took his handkerchief out of his pocket and fashioned it into a semblance of a do-rag and began trudging down the rough track the van had followed. There was only one direction to go—the way they'd come—he just hoped that somewhere along the way he'd find help. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jonas eagerly drank in the slightly seedy and worn-down ambiance around him. It was good to be back on Earth—good to be with his friends once again. And with new friends—even though the new Mrs. Felger was occupied with more pressing matters right now. Jonas peered over her shoulder. "Seen anybody who looks familiar?"

Chloe sighed and turned the last page of mug shot book—the fifth one she had looked through that morning. "Not yet." 

Her voice quivered and Jonas placed his hand over hers. "We'll find him. Doctor Felger is resourceful. Believe me, he's hard to kill."

Chloe choked back a little sob and Jonas realized his last words might not have been that encouraging. "What I mean is—"

"Oh, Jonas, I know what you mean. Jay is hard to kill. It's just in the past, he's always had SG-1 to back him up." She turned her sad brown eyes toward him, turning her hand in his and gripping tightly. "He's just a scientist—not a soldier."

"We will find him. You can't lose faith."

She smiled—though it didn't reach her eyes, Jonas noticed—and released his hand, once more looking at the mug shots. He passed her the sixth book and after she opened the first page, she suddenly stiffened.

"Do you recognize someone?" Jonas leaned closer, eager to see.

"Yes." Chloe pointed to a mug shot of a swarthy looking middle-aged man.

"Leon Montez...."

"Yes, I'm sure that's the man who grabbed Jay and pulled him into the limo."

"I'll get Detective Fitzgerald." Jonas stood up and looked around the squad room, finally spying the Detective at a corner desk. By the time he'd returned with the man firmly in tow, Chloe was practically bouncing with excitement.

"This man, too! This man was driving the limo!"

Both Jonas and Detective Fitzgerald looked at the photo to which she pointed.

"Sergio Francisco," Fitzgerald murmured. "Yeah, I know him. He usually works with—"

"Leon Montez?" Jonas supplied, reaching over Chloe's shoulder and flipping the book to the first picture she'd identified.

"Yeah, Sergio and Leon. But they're just two-bit hoods. They usually work for a local middle-man named Yanno Vincente, who functions as an independent contractor for various 'interests' here in town."

"Why would they want with Doctor Felger?" Jonas mused.

"That's something we'll have to ask them," Fitzgerald retorted. "Hendrix?" An officer looked up from a nearby desk. "Get APB's out on Sergio Francisco and Leon Montez."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack worked steadily at his steak, Teal'c and Jonas had been back to the buffet twice and Sam picked at her salad. After Jonas' good news that Chloe had tentatively identified the men who had kidnapped Felger, they had been optimistic. Maybe overly optimistic, because as the day had worn on with no word that the two men had been found, the optimism had faded. Jack had finally sent Jonas and Teal'c back down to the gaming tables—and Sam with them. He had then spent the next two hours on the phone with Hammond, Fitzgerald and anyone else he could think of who might be able to help them, only to be told the same thing—wait and see what the Las Vegas police found with Francisco and Montez.

Finally he'd given up and rounded up his team for dinner. He didn't even want to know about the huge stack of chips that both Teal'c and Jonas had turned in at the cashiers. Even Sam had done fairly well at the Blackjack table and had offered to pay for dinner. Which was where they were now, at the buffet in one of the neighboring casinos. Nothing ever seemed to affect Jonas or Teal'c's appetite—or his—and while Sam wasn't a big eater, she usually couldn't get enough shrimp when they were at a buffet.

"No shrimp?"

She smiled wanly at him, her earlier cheerfulness gone. "Statistically, the longer he's missing, the less likely it is that he'll be found."

Jack wasn't surprised by her non sequitur, he knew that Felger's kidnapping was on all their minds, refusing to leave them alone.... Just like the man himself, he decided wryly.

"Sam's right," Jonas added. "They'll keep him alive only as long as necessary."

"If he doesn't annoy them to death first," Jack commented darkly. But Sam actually smothered a small grin, so he didn't feel so bad.

"Doctor Felger can be most resourceful," Teal'c intoned gravely.

"If that means he can pull a solution out of his—" Jack's cell phone rang before he could finish his sarcastic comment. Everyone at the table stopped eating and looked at him. Jack flipped his phone open. "O'Neill."

_"Fitzgerald here. We apprehended your two perps at the airport."_

"That's great." Jack gave his team the thumbs up. "And Felger? He's alive?"

_"They dropped him off—alive, so they claim—in the desert west of here. They're a bit fuzzy on exactly where, but apparently it's either on or very close to the test site."_

Jack nodded and his team broke into huge smiles. "Excellent. Any indication as to why they kidnapped him?"

_"Evidently it was simply a case of mistaken identity. Your Doctor Felger bears an uncanny resemblance to a local Mafioso. Francisco and Montez were on their way out of town, to lay low until this blows over, when we nabbed them."_

His team was giving him anxious looks, so he asked. "When do we start the search?"

_"It's not going to be that easy, it's a big desert, Colonel. And...we have another complication."_

"Which is?"

_"I spoke with the Nellis Base Commander before calling you. The entire area where Doctor Felger was last seen has been placed on restricted access. Apparently they're holding extensive live fire exercises there for the next twenty-four hours."_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Qu'vatlh," Jay cursed, sucking on his finger and trying to pull the fine thorns out with his teeth. Meeting with limited success, he finally gave up and carefully squeezed the fleshy piece of cactus he'd hacked off from a nearby Prickly Pear. His efforts and pain seemed to have been in vain, there didn't seem to be any water in the darn cactus anyway. _Thanks a lot for that tip, Captain Fredericks,_ he thought in disgust. Tossing the hunk of cactus away, he carefully folded up his Swiss Army Knife. It was useless; he was going to die of thirst, dehydration slowly killing him and the hot sun baking his flesh. 

His corpse would lie out here in the desert, decaying and slowly rotting, insects and vermin eating his flesh, vultures picking out his sightless eyes. Jay almost hoped they wouldn't find his body, he wouldn't want Chloe or his mother to know what had happened to him. Crawling out from under the rocky overhang where he had taken shelter during the blazing heat of the day, he watched with gritty eyes as the sun dipped below the horizon. 

Twilight faded into the darkness of night, the only light that of an almost full moon. The heat was still oppressive, but Jay knew it would cool off soon enough. He needed to get started walking again, even though he was beginning to succumb to hopelessness. He hadn't seen any signs of life all day—well, at least no signs of people. He thought he had heard a helicopter sometime during the afternoon, but by the time he'd crawled out from his shelter, it was gone. But he knew he couldn't give up, not as long as he was able to walk—Chloe was depending on him to get back to her.

His only hope lay with SG-1. He knew they had to be out there searching for him, they wouldn't leave him behind, it was their code, they never left anybody behind. But he also knew they didn't have any idea of where to find him. He didn't even know where he was, or who those men were who had abducted him. It had obviously all been a colossal error on somebody's part and he was the patsy. A slightly hysterical laugh escaped his dry and chapped lips, talk about going from the frying pan into the fire!

Jay trudged down the barely visible track, the sound of his labored breathing mingling with the lonesome cries of the night birds and the desert insects. Once he was sure he heard a coyote howling to the moon. If it wasn't so desolate and he wasn't lost and so weak, it would almost be beautiful, he mused. Chloe would love the desert at night, the stars so bright and clear, the moon full and beautiful. He choked back a dry sob, his beautiful Chloe was the only thing that kept him going.

He had been walking for nearly an hour when he heard the first helicopter coming in from the west. Turning, he looked up into the sky as the ghostly ship passed over—running with no lights—an inky black shadow against the moonlit sky. Stunned by the choppers mysterious appearance, Jay didn't react for several moments; belatedly jumping, yelling and waving his arms after the chopper had passed over him.

The helicopter glided into the night and Jay sighed and turned back the direction he'd been walking. He'd gotten another hundred yards or so when the still night was once again broken by the sound of more helicopters. This time an entire group rushed toward him—there had to be at least six or seven. Jay immediately started jumping up and down, shouting and waving his now grimy handkerchief/do-rag in the air. 

There was a bright flash of light from one of the choppers and his heart soared, they'd seen him. He continued to jump up and wave, only to seconds later frantically dive to the ground, when a huge explosion sounded near him. Rolling into a ball, Jay covered his head as dirt and debris rained down on him. There were several more explosions; his heart raced in fear and he didn't move until he couldn't hear the choppers anymore.

Cautiously rolling to his back, Jay rubbed the dust and grit out of his eyes and gazed up into the starlit sky. The man in the moon looked like he was laughing at him and Jay didn't blame him. He'd been to other worlds; he'd fought side-by-side with the SGC's best and here was taking friendly fire on Earth—at least he hoped it was friendly fire. _Of course it was friendly fire,_ he chided himself. If it were the Goa'uld, there'd be death gliders and Alkeshs and at least one, maybe two, Mother Ships. Helicopters were definitely Earth. Which didn't actually make him feel any better.

Jay sighed and contemplated just staying where he was, flat on his back in the dirt. He could watch the stars and with any luck, he'd be dead by morning. Maybe that wasn't such a bad plan. It seemed either the desert or his as of yet unidentified assailants in the helicopters were going to get him. He'd make it easy for them, he decided mournfully, lying back in the dirt. He didn't even flinch when he heard the rotors of another helicopter drawing closer and when a searchlight shone brightly down on him and blinded him, he closed his eyes and prepared to die.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I appreciate your problem, Colonel. But the exercises are taking place under radio silence."

Jack glared at Colonel Merriwether, the CO in charge of the live fire exercises. He'd been arguing with the man for almost thirty minutes, ever since they'd been grudgingly escorted to the base camp, and his already stretched patience was running exceedingly thin. He knew it was largely due to General Hammond that they had even gotten this far, so he did his best to stay calm. "If you appreciated my problem, Colonel. You'd call off your exercises and allow us to search for our missing man."

"Colonel O'Neill, we're not doing—" An airman suddenly entered the tent and stood stiffly at attention. "What is it Schmidt?" Merriwether snapped.

"We've received a message from Major Halliday."

"What the hell? He knows we're running silent." 

Airman Schmidt simply nodded, his face impassive, and handed Merriwether a piece of paper. The Colonel's frown got even deeper and when he crumpled the piece of paper and looked at O'Neill, he was none to happy. "Well, looks like you'll get your wish, Colonel. One of the wings reports seeing a non-combatant during a bombing exercise."

"Bombing exercise?" Jonas asked. Sam turned pale.

"Airman, Halliday is sure it was a person? Not some animal?"

"Yes, sir. He was most insistent that it was a person, not an animal or rock formation. He's asking for orders, sir." 

Merriwether sighed and closed his eyes for a brief moment. Jack could almost feel sorry for the man, but not at the cost of Doctor Felger's life. When Merriwether opened his eyes, he seemed to have reached a decision.

"Very well. Schmidt, radio Halliday to return to base camp and pick up Colonel O'Neill and his team. I'll instruct the rest of the teams to halt their maneuvers within a ten-mile radius of where the non-combatant was last seen."

Schmidt saluted and left the tent. Merriwether just nodded and quickly followed him. Jack was sure he heard him mutter, "Damn scientists", as he left. 

"Thank you, too!" Jack hollered after Merriwether and turned back to his team.

"He's not too happy," Jonas observed.

Jack slapped his gloves against his hand. "No, he's not. But if they did see Felger out there, at least we have a chance to find him." They'd all been given black BDU's, courtesy of the supply sergeant at Nellis, so at least they were appropriately dressed for this rescue mission. He was glad now, that he'd changed into his dress blues before making the trip out to Nellis. There was nothing like a Colonel in full uniform with a chest full of medals to make the underlings sit up and take notice. 

It also made Sam sit up and take notice too...he gave her a sideways look. Maybe once they got this all sorted out, they'd have a bit of the 'Colonel and Major' tonight. He could explain all his medals to her, especially the Combat Readiness one than Felger's mother had admired—in great detail. If memory served him right, she should have one of those too...which could lead to an interesting evening. Fortunately, before his fantasy got any further and placed him in an...uncomfortable position, Airman Schmidt returned.

"If you'll come with me, Major Halliday will be landing any minute."

Jack nodded and followed Schmidt out of the tent, his team stepping into place behind him, Jonas falling in just like he'd never been gone. They followed Schmidt out to the small airfield adjacent to the base camp. 

"Nice ride," Jack commented, when Schmidt led them over to the MH-53 Pave Low helicopter, its motor already fired up and rotors slowly turning. A tall, lanky man dressed in combat black complete with helmet stood by it and when he saw them, he gestured for them to come over. 

"That's Major Halliday," Schmidt shouted over the ever-increasing noise of the rotors. Jack didn't bother to try and answer, merely nodded and then gestured to his team; they ducked below the whirling rotors and jogged over to the chopper. 

Halliday didn't say anything, just crowded them into the chopper. The four of them clambered aboard and immediately put on their helmets, getting their radios in place. Once Halliday was in the cockpit, he spoke, his southern drawl seemingly magnified by the radio.  
"Colonel O'Neill and party, I presume?"

Jack grinned; he was going to like this guy. "That's right. What can you tell me about this non-combatant you spotted?"

He could see Halliday's hands move confidently over the controls, his co-pilot's hands equally as busy. "It wasn't actually me that saw the bogey, sir. Captain Crenshaw swears he saw a person jumping up and down and waving a white flag during his run, just south of Bald Mountain."

"How likely is that?" Jonas piped in over the radio.

"It's possible," Halliday drawled. "Bald Mountain is just on the northern perimeter of the restricted area. Highway 375 does run pretty close by."

"The Extra-Terrestrial Highway." Jonas grinned and Jack rolled his eyes.

"Yep." The dull hum of the engines increased to a roar and the chopper slowly lifted off the ground. "Get all kind of strange folk out that way. They usually know before we do when there's going to be restricted access. But we are right on the edge of the full moon." Halliday glanced over his shoulder at them. "I’m going to shut my radio off for now, but I'll leave the four of yours on." 

Jack nodded and then decided he'd have to revise his opinion of Halliday when the man winked at Sam, before turning his attention back to the cockpit. 

"Doesn't it defeat the purposes of their exercises if there's a full moon?" Jonas asked.

"Not at all, Jonas," Teal'c replied.

"You can't always choose the conditions under which you go into battle," Sam added. 

"So you practice during all different times of the day?"

"And weather conditions." 

Jonas flashed a quick grin at her and fell silent, turning his attention outside the window. Jack did the same, though there wasn't much visible, in spite of the bright moon. And they were still running dark, he noted. "See anything?" he murmured to Sam, who was scanning the area with a pair of infrared binoculars.

"Nothing so far," she muttered. 

It was probably not more than ten minutes later when Halliday's voice sounded in their ears. "We're coming up on the area where Crenshaw saw the bogey." 

All eyes were focused out the windows now. Halliday slowed the chopper down and turned on the running lights and the searchlight, the helicopter now moving gently back and forth in a search pattern. 

"Wait!" Jonas suddenly spoke. "Is that a road?"

The Pave dipped slightly, the searchlight illuminating what could be the faint tracks of a dirt road. "Could be, Mr. Quinn," Halliday murmured. "Let's follow it for awhile." The aircraft swung to the southeast and all eyes were on the rough track illuminated by the searchlight.

"I think—wait!" Sam's excited voice broke into his ear. "Isn't that?"

"Doctor Felger!" Jonas pointed out the window at the still figure lying in the dirt.

"He is not moving," Teal'c rumbled.

"Let's get a better look." The chopper gently swung back around and hovered low over the supine man. 

"He's just lying there," Jonas commented, turning confused-looking eyes toward them.

"What the hell?" Jack didn’t understand it anymore than the rest of them. What he needed was...he looked around the interior of the Pave and didn't see what he needed, so he finally asked Halliday. "Does this bird have a bullhorn?"

"I can do you better than that, Colonel." Halliday flipped a couple of switches on the console. "You're live in the air, sir."

Jack looked at him blankly for a moment and then Halliday tapped on his microphone. "Ah." Jack cleared his voice and then spoke into his mic. "Doctor Felger!" He was dimly aware that his voice boomed out into the desert surrounding the chopper, but the man—who with closer inspection, clearly was a worse-for-the-wear Jay Felger—didn't move. He tried again. "Felger! This is Colonel O'Neill! Get your sorry ass up off that ground!" 

That got a reaction, an arm slowly moved in an apparent move to shade his face from the bright light from the helicopter. "Can you land this thing?" O'Neill asked Halliday.

"You got it." Halliday gave some sort of signal to his co-pilot and the Pave slowly settled down onto the desert floor. Teal'c had the door open before the skids even touched the ground and then they were jogging across the desert toward Felger. 

"Jay!" Sam called when they got closer. 

"Doctor Felger!" Teal'c boomed.

That seemed to get a reaction, as Felger slowly sat up and then struggled to his feet. "Is it really you?" He staggered toward them.

"Major Carter! Teal'c! Jonas!"

Jack slowed down and then stopped a few yards away while Sam and Jonas fussed over the relieved Felger, Teal'c grinning as he watched the scene. Jonas had handed Jay a bottle of water and he gulped it down, water splashing down his chin and onto his clothes. He laughed, pouring the rest of the water of his head and shaking his head. Sam and Jonas laughed too, backing up. Jack smiled...and then he frowned.

"Colonel O'Neill!" Jay rushed toward him and before he could back away, the grateful professor threw his arms around him. His hair was wet and the front of his shirt was wet, seeping into his BDUs.

"Felger!" Jack commanded, prying the clinging arms from around him. "No touching! You know that."

Jay seemed reluctant to let him go, but finally did, stepping back and wiping his suspiciously teary eyes. "I'm sorry, Colonel. I’m just so relieved." Jack raised his eyebrow. "Oh, I knew you'd find me. Never leave anybody behind and all that."

"Right," Jack replied. 

"Is this your missing scientist?" Halliday had joined the cheerful reunion.

"Yeah," Jack nodded once more toward the laughing and talking quartet. 

"Odd folk, those scientists."

Jack couldn't agree with him more, but refrained from saying it out loud. 

"Well, we best be getting back to base before Merriwether has a total conniption."

Jack nodded. "I'll gather up the troops. Carter!" She looked his way, her smile brilliant. "Time to head back to base."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So it was all just a case of mistaken identity?" 

Jack smothered a smile and he noticed Sam did too. Felger sounded almost disappointed. 

"Yes, Doctor Felger. That's all it was." Detective Fitzgerald smiled kindly. "Now, if you'll come with me, I want you to pick out your abductors from a line-up."

"A line-up?" Jay seemed to perk up at bit at that. "A line-up is good. I'm positive I'll be able to identify those hoodlums right away. Lead the way, Detective!" He waved at them from across the squad room. 

Sam, Teal'c and Jonas all waved back, Jack merely nodded. He really wanted to leave the station and get back to the hotel. They had all changed back into their street clothes, except for him of course, and he wanted nothing more than to get out of his uniform. Felger was wearing a borrowed set of blue BDUs from Nellis. They'd let him take a shower, but Teal'c had insisted they put the professor's dirty clothing in plastic bags, in case they were needed as evidence. 

Jack glanced over at Teal'c, who was studying a bulletin board full of wanted posters. Jack was worried that the big guy was watching too much TV, or at least too many police dramas. Sam confirmed his theory when she whispered in his ear. "His favorite TV show is _America's Most Wanted."_

"Ah." Jack looked around the squad room again. Fitzgerald was still talking to Felger about the line-up and now that he was safe, Jack didn't see any reason that they couldn't leave. "So, what do you say we get out of here?"

"And leave Jay behind?"

"We aren't leaving him behind, Sam. We found him. Besides, I think I've more than fulfilled my duties as his Best Man." Jack gestured toward the two men. "Fitzgerald will make sure he gets back to the hotel okay."

"I don't know—" The rest of her protest was cut short by a flurry of activity at the door to the large room. The doors burst open and everyone stopped what they were doing and watched in amazement as Chloe raced an obstacle course of desks and people and flung herself into her husband's arms.

"Jay! Oh, Jay!" She was kissing him and hugging him in between exclaiming over him. "I was so worried!" Jack wondered for a brief moment where her parents were, but then decided he really didn't want to know—or get involved into explaining to them why their new son-in-law was at the police station when he was supposed to be in Colorado Springs. 

"Can we leave now?" he whispered to Sam. 

"Yes," she turned her back on the reunion of the happy couple and took his arm, flashing him a brilliant smile. "We can leave now."

"Yo! Teal'c! Jonas!" When the two looked his way, he continued, "We're outta' here."

Teal'c inclined his head and—with some reluctance, Jack could tell—quit reading the bulletin board and joined them. Jonas bounded to their side. 

"We're going to head back to the hotel."

"Actually, Jack," Jonas ventured, "since this is our last night in Vegas...."

"Jonas Quinn and I will find our own way back to the hotel." Teal'c finished for him. "We have yet to visit the casinos on Fremont Street."

Jack looked at the two aliens—Teal'c as inscrutable as ever, Jonas grinning like a maniac. "All right," he agreed slowly. "Just remember our flight leaves at 1400."

"Do not worry about us, O'Neill. We shall not miss the plane."

"That's not what I'm worried about." 

Sam giggled and tugged on his arm. "Come on, Jack. They can take care of themselves. Let's go to the hotel, we haven't tired out the Jacuzzi yet."

Sam was right, Jack decided, about both things—the boys could take care of themselves and they hadn't tried the Jacuzzi yet. "Then what are we waiting for?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack groaned and moved a bit, settling Sam more comfortably against him. The hot water and the bubbling jets from the Jacuzzi felt like heaven. Of course, Sam felt pretty good, the hot tub felt pretty good; and the accompanying sex...well, the sex had been out of this world. Nuzzling her neck, he trailed the fingers of one hand lightly down her arm. She let out a soft sound, that Jack recognized as her contented one, and turned her head enough so that their lips met.

"Nice," he murmured. He reached for one of the wineglasses sitting on the wide ledge around the tub and handed it to her, then picked up the second one for him. 

"Hmm...very nice." She took a sip of the fruity Chardonnay and then set the glass back down. She shifted, turning more sideways; arms and legs rearranging so that they still maintained maximum contact, yet could see each other. She rested an arm around his shoulder and raked her nails gently through the hair at his nape. He couldn't help the shiver that ran through him, he loved it when she did that.

"I hope Jay and Chloe are just as happy."

He about spit out the wine he'd just swallowed. That got his attention—and not in a good way. Setting the glass down, he gave her a stern look. "I so do not want to think about Felger—in a Jacuzzi—with anyone! Even his wife!" His eyes narrowed at the smirk on her face. "And why, pray tell, were you thinking about Felger now?" A disturbing thought suddenly occurred to him. "Were you fantasizing about him?"

Her smirk broke into a grin and she chuckled. "No, I wasn't fantasizing about him—or anyone. I've got my fantasy right here." His heart swelled with satisfaction and he smiled lazily at her, tracing a wet finger along her collarbone. The smile she returned then was one of amused affection. "I just hope he and Chloe are finally enjoying their honeymoon."

"Okay." He leaned forward and dropped a kiss on her nose. Another disturbing thought crept into his brain. "You're not disappointed, are you? That you're not on your honeymoon?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer, but felt compelled to ask.

Her eyes darkened and her face took on that contemplative look he knew so well. She took so long to answer that he started to wish he had never brought it up. And then she finally spoke. "No," she murmured. "I'm not disappointed. What we have now is more than I ever dreamt I'd have with you."

"Some day," he promised her solemnly.

"Some day," she agreed. "Just...not on the bridge of the Enterprise, okay?"

Jack laughed and pulled her into a tight embrace, water sloshing around them. "I think I can definitely promise you that!"

THE END


End file.
